Dive bombed at work

[Simic]

Has this ever happened to anyone else? I have been in my job for 13 years. It involves a lot of concentration and is intellectually demanding but has very very little variety.
After two maternity leaves, and now working part time (have been since January), everything's just gone horribly wrong.
I just can't keep my concentration (child care nightmares not helping). I panic about being so behind with my work and I'm just getting absolutely nothing done. My boss is - understandably - furious. I just feel that I can't carry on. I don't know what I'm doing any more and I find it so hard to motivate myself. I think my problem is that I'm not the kind of person who can do exactly the same task, day in, day out, for forty years. The only way out I can see is a career change.
I'm really just writing to find out if I'm alone with something like this happening?

This happened to me a while ago. After I stepped down to a job with less responsibility, they employed two people to do the job I'd been doing, and both were on long term sick leave within six months, due to work based stress.

I feel for you - it isn't worth it.

I found anew job with a new, more realistic employer about six months after stepping into the lower role.

When you went part-time did the company employ someone to do the days you are not there or did you drop some of your responsibilities? Is your boss taking into consideration that you are now working and being paid for less hours or is s/he still expecting the same output from you?

I don't think childcare and the increased responsibilities of parenthood will be helping but it sounds as if you would have needed to leave this job by now anyway, you say yourself that it has very little variety and you cannot imagine doing it for the rest of your working life. What is stopping you from leaving - lack of similar jobs, fear of the unknown, something else?

Can you do the same job in another company (hopefully under a more sympathetic boss and better conditions)?

Thanks for your comments. It just helps to write it and thanks particularly hairytriangle for sharing your experience. Somehow I get the impression that everyone around me always manages everything perfectly, whilst I'm not managing, no matter how hard I try.

Thanks the three of you!